"Life's a Beach"

Here's something else you might now know about my DH. He loves to shop. Mind you, it is possible he has never seen the inside of a grocery store and all of his clothes shopping is done online but when we go on vacation, Mr. Kinnon gets his shop ON! He is crazy for art and textiles and will spend hours and hours looking for just the right ...

Our first day in Oaxaca City was all about relaxation...and food! We all slept in and spent a leisurely morning at Casa Palomita (named for the bird not the movie snack) before going for a stroll into town. A working vacation for Rob, he had hours of emails to attend to and I took that time to acquaint myself with a city map and pin down some ...

Fortunately, the next day Rob was feeling much better and, after spending so long in the hotel alone, was ready to get on the road. We had planned to spend a day or two in Puebla but decided just to stop for a nice lunch instead and then continue on to Oaxaca City. We picked up our car at a rental place near the airport  and with a little ...

Today was the day we were scheduled to leave for Oaxaca. A car rental had been arranged in advance and the plan was to drive to Puebla, spend a day or two checking out the city and then carry on to Oaxaca where we were to spend the remainder of our vacation time. What we did not plan was for Rob to come down with a horrible stomach bug that would ...

"I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best."  - Frida Kahlo A few years ago, our family road trip took us through San Cristobal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas. The highlight of our time there was a trip to Na Bolom, the home of Franz and Gertrude Blom, now preserved as a museum and ...

One of the things that first attracted me to Rob when I was first dating him was his interest and appreciation of good food, good wine and quality spirits. At the time, I was selling wine for a very nice importer/distributor so we always had plenty of great wine on hand to pair with delicious food with my favorite restaurant accounts! Throughout ...

Our first full day in Mexico City was sunny and warm. Warm enough for shorts and flip flops but, having learned my lesson in Monterrey and Guadalajara, I knew that more formal attire would be expected. So, despite the weather, Rob and I wore long pants and closed shoes. While our scheduled trip to the zoo in Chapultepec Park would be a casual ...

In our eight years in Mexico we have never had the chance nor the inclination to explore Mexico City. In fact, the only time we have ever been there was for an overnight layover on the way to Acapulco for our honeymoon in 2001. I was so intimidated by the "idea" of Mexico City that I booked us into a hotel right at the airport and ...

If you have been hanging around the "Life's a Beach" blog for a while, you already know that we try to take one big road trip every year during the kids' semana santa break. We have explored Belize, Guatemala, Chiapas, Campeche, the Yucatan and pretty much anywhere we could easily reach by car. This year, no one was interested in ...

So, here's something you might not know about us. Every year, we (notice I said we) spend months talking about and planning our big family vacation. It never takes us long to decide on location as we know we will have a great time no matter where we end up. The actual trip planning falls mostly to me. I book the flights, investigate and ...